Saber Interactive began teasing a sequel to World War Z back in February 2020. Now the developer has announced World War Z: Aftermath, the “next evolution” of the World War Z franchise. The game will bring a new melee combat system, new first-person mode, and full cross-play to PlayStation 4 later this year and PlayStation 5 in 2022.
The co-op zombie shooter will once again pit up to four players against hordes of zombies, this time in several new locations like Rome, Vatican City and the Kamchatka peninsula in Russia. The new locations will mean some new undead too, including “swarms of flesh-hungry rats”. All of these can be experienced in the brand new first-person mode and with cross-play between consoles and PC.
Some familiar characters will return while there will also be some new faces. There will be eight classes – Gunslinger, Hellraiser, Slasher, Medic, Fixer, Exterminator, Dronemaster, and Vanguard – with specialized perks and playstyles, each of which can be leveled up. Weapons can be customized too, and this time the survivors will have a unique range of melee moves and perks to help defeat zekes, as well as the option to dual-wield melee weapons like the sickle and cleaver. Those who complete the daily missions will be rewarded with special modifiers to use.
World War Z: Aftermath will include all of the content from the Game of the Year Edition of World War Z, such as the New York, Moscow, Marseille and Tokyo full episodes. Aftermath will launch on PS4 later this year for $39.99. Those who own World War Z can buy Aftermath for just $19.99 on the same platform. Alternatively there will be a Deluxe Edition for $49.99 that includes a bonus weapon pack and weapon skins, as well as four days of early access to the game. World War Z owners can buy the Deluxe Edition for $29.99. The game will be backwards compatible on the PlayStation 5 and will have 4K resolution at 60 FPS.
Early in 2022, the game will launch natively on PlayStation 5 and will include “next-generation features and enhancements”. Those who purchase the PS4 version of the game can get a free upgrade to the PS5 version. The first PS5 post-launch update will then add an exclusive Horde Mode XL game mode that will allow hundreds of zombies to be rendered on screen. Here players will face endless waves of zombies that become gradually tougher to take down. This mode will not be available on PS4.
World War Z: Aftermath comes to PlayStation 4 in 2021 and PlayStation 5 in early 2022.